Far From Home
by BakaNekoItaly
Summary: After hunters invade and kidnap him from his territory, Feliciano must find his way back home. But will the young fox hybrid make it back in one piece?
1. Chapter 1

_There's a legend about a certain forest. It is said that deep within the depths, there lived three brothers. They were fox hybrids and they were most certainly dangerous. It is said that a goddess blessed these brothers with their animal features, so they could live as guardians of the forest. They each owned a part of the forest and they protected the foxes within their territory. Should you ever come across one of them, run away as fast as you can, for these brothers would not hesitate to kill anyone trespassing onto their territory._

...

Something was wrong. Feliciano knew it the moment the birds had gone silent. He sat up and angled his ears around, trying to find out what had caused this unnecessary silence. He let out a sharp but low howl, alerting his brothers of possible danger in his territory. He stood up and began to walk, looking around cautiously.

"The forest certainly seems okay... But it's too quiet," he mumbled to himself. He put his hand on a close by tree and stopped. His ears twitched as he caught a sound. Footsteps, ones too heavy to be a fox or any other small creature. And from the sound, it was many of the same kind. He felt a growl rise in his throat. Humans! How dare humans trespass into _his _territory!

He considered shifting into a fox and killing the person in his territory, but it had been a long time since he had killed a human. Lately, he's led them out of the forest and told them never to come back. Maybe these people just got lost. He huffed and sniffed the air. Once he caught their city scent, he began to track them down.

"Surely, they must be up to no good. Otherwise, the forest wouldn't have gone silent like this," he muttered. Suddenly, a gunshot went off and a bunch of birds flew into the air, cawing and chirping loudly to warn other forest creatures. Feliciano snarled and began to run.

"How dare they come here to hunt," he growled as he ran. Something suddenly wrapped around his ankle and he was lifted off his feet. His head smacked against the ground as he was lifted into the air. He groaned and looked up at what snagged his foot.

"A rope trap? Did those humans put it up?" He wondered aloud. He sighed in annoyance. It wasn't like he could do anything to get down, so he was stuck. Or so he thought, until he heard a familiar voice.

"Feliciano, are you stuck? I hope this isn't the reason you called for me and Romeo out here," the voice huffed and Feliciano looked around until he saw his older brother in his fox form. He looked tired, so Feliciano could only guess he had stayed up late taking care of his territory.

"It's not. Please get me down, Lovino. And quickly, there are hunters in the forest," he said just as another gunshot went off. Lovino's ears twitched and he looked along the rope to see which tree it was tied to. He walked over to the tree, just as three hunters came into view. One pointed a gun at Lovino.

"Lovino, run!" He screamed as the hunter shot at Lovino. He flinched, but luckily he didn't get hurt. He snarled at the hunters as another pointed a different gun at Feliciano, one he recognized as a tranquilizer gun. He understood now, the humans were here for him and his brothers.

"Lovino, go! I'll be fine, but you need to get Romeo and hide! Go, quickly!" Feliciano said, right as he the person shot a dart at him. It hit him on his shoulder and he let out a small hiss of pain. "Lovino, go!"

Lovino gave his brother a horrified look before turning and darting off right as another bullet was shot at him.

Things soon became hazy. He remembered briefly the humans lowering him down and he tried to get up and run. But his body wasn't responding, not cooperating. The drug was making him unable to run, to get away from these people. He heard another gunshot and a howl from a fox. He couldn't tell if it was one of his brothers, but it soon didn't matter as he passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

Feliciano woke up, naked and confused. He was in an unfamiliar place, a place that was not his forest. It smelled like dust, make-up and hairspray and it overloaded his sensitive nose. He sat up quickly and the cage he was in toppled over and crashed to the floor. He groaned in pain and his ears twitched when he heard laughter and he looked around. He spotted a woman with long hair that was a little past the back of her knees, obviously dyed blue. She was wearing fake cat ears on top of her head and she wore a black knee-length dress. Around her waist was a black belt with a fake cat tail attached to it. She walked over to the cage and kneeled down, setting the cage up right with a little difficulty because of his weight. He curled his tail around to hide his privates when he noticed the woman look at them.

"Better be careful foxy. Wouldn't want to injure yourself before your first show, would you?" she ask as she stared at him. He gave her a hard stare and she laughed again. "What's that look for?"

"Where is this? Why am I here?" he asked, snarling a bit. The woman only shrugged and stood back up. She greeted another woman that came in, but she grabbed a few things and left without saying anything.

"You're in a city, in a place full of freaks. That's what we run, a freak show," she said as she walked over to a table with various objects on it. Feliciano growled in irritation. Could she be any more vague? That told him nothing! He looked at the cage he was in and started fiddling with the lock.

"You won't get out without a key," she said but Feliciano continued to mess with it. "You might as well relax and take it easy. The show is about to start and your segment is the third act."

Feliciano looked at her, but didn't say anything. If he waited, he could get out. They wouldn't keep him here, he was sure of it. She turned towards the mirror and put some make up on. He watched as she pulled her hair up, having a little difficulty because of it's length. She made eye contact with him through the mirror.

"Gone silent now? Surely you have something to say foxy," she said.

"Stop calling me that," he growled. He turned so his back was facing her and she sighed. He suddenly hear a loud speaker and someone called for a girl named Avery. The blue-haired girl rushed out of the room, so he could only guess she was Avery.

After thirty minutes, Avery came back with a man. He held handcuffs and Feliciano snorted. Those wouldn't work on him.

"It's your turn, foxy," she said as the man unlocked the cage. He bolted out, but Avery caught him and he was quickly hand cuffed. "Nice try foxy, but that would have never worked."

They led him out of the room and down a long hallway. He could hear a man talking loudly and he flattened his ears against the noise.

"Now, we have a special treat tonight! We brought a forest guardian here, the one told in a legend from long ago," the man said as a stage came into view. Avery stepped out onto the stage with Feliciano beside her. Cheering erupted immediately and he shut his eyes from the bright light that was shone on him and Avery. When Avery moved him to the center of the stage he looked around.

There were a lot of openings where he could escape. It was now or never.

Before the man could say anything else, Feliciano shifted into a fox. Ignoring the startled cries from the people around him, he kicked the handcuffs off his fore paws and jumped down from the stage. People began to scream and get up from their seats to run. Guards rushed toward him but he sprinted past them. It was total chaos and he almost got stepped on a few times. He sprinted out of the room and looked around. He ran from the guards that had chased him from the room, not caring where he was going as long as he got out of this building.

He soon saw a dead end with nothing but a window. That was his only way to freedom. He sped up and jumped at the window. He closed his eyes and the window broke from the impact. He fell outside on the pavement, hearing a few startled screams from people nearby. He opened his eyes and looked around as he stood up. He was in the city, like Avery said. And his nose was being assaulted with so many different smells. He backed away from curious on lookers and he whimpered. He heard the guards that were chasing him before and he took off.

He didn't know where he was going. He was almost hit by cars a few times and people kept screaming in shock when they saw him. He was sure it was an odd sight to see a fox in the city. He was overwhelmed by all the sights and the smells. He needed to get out, fast. And then he saw it. A forest, not to far from where he was. He darted toward it as fast as he could.

Only to be greeted by a high, wired fence when he got there. He snarled and tried to climb the fence, but it was no use. He couldn't climb in this form. He looked around and shifted. He quickly climbed the fence, hearing disgusted gasps behind him.

"Hey! Get down from there! No one is allowed in that forest," said a sharp voice from behind him. But he didn't stop. He jumped down on the other side of the fence.

"Get out of there," he heard the voice again. Without turning, he shifted again. He ran away from the fence and into the freedom of the forest.


	3. Chapter 3

_Of course, being blessed by a goddess does have it's draw backs. Since these brother's have lived for a very long time and have never left their territory, they did not know this draw back. These brothers were not allowed to leave their homes, for any reason at all. And if they did... Well, let's just say it would be best for them to stay in their territory._

...

He ran through the forest until he felt like he was a safe distance away. He flopped down and just laid there as he tried to catch his breath. He managed to escape, now he needed to find a way home. He rested for a few more minutes before he stood up and began to walk. He didn't know where he was headed, but his best chances at getting home were to keep moving.

_What if I never make it home? Will Romeo and Lovino take care of my territory for me? Could they manage taking care of extra territory?_

Feliciano sighed as he continued walking. His belly growled, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since the day he'd been captured. He didn't know how long that was, he could have been asleep for a few days for all he knew. He sniffed the air and caught a faint scent of rabbit. He followed the scent until he found his prey. The rabbit was nibbling on a blade of grass, it's back toward Feliciano. He dropped into a hunter's crouch and slid forward silently. When he got close, he jumped at the rabbit and pinned it to the ground. He killed it with a swift bite to the neck and he looked around. Seeing there were no other predators around who would attack him, he settled down and began to eat.

He licked his muzzle to clean off the blood once he finished eating. He stood up and stretched and he continued on. He didn't stop to admire the scenery, it was the same as his territory after all. He just wanted to get home. No, he needed to get home.

...

A few days had passed and Feliciano was exhausted. He finally made it out of that forest, but he found himself in another city. He was huddled under a bridge, waiting for the rain to stop. He wasn't alone under the bridge, there were a few teenage boys along with two girls there as well, making five in total. They were talking loudly to be heard over the rain and they were laughing at stupid jokes that the boys made. His ears twitched when he heard one say something about a fox... Which was him.

"Why is there a fox here? They usually don't live in the city, right?" One of the boys asked. The others just muttered that they didn't think so. He tensed up when a rock flew by his ear and landed a few feet in front of him.

"Hey! Don't throw rocks at it, it's not hurting anything," one of the girls snapped.

"Yea! And you might make it angry," the other one said.

"Oh, whatever! It's just a stupid animal," one of the boys said. Feliciano let out a low growl, one that they wouldn't be able to hear.

"It's more than likely smarter than you," the girl said, the one who had said something about throwing rocks.

"I bet it's not! Watch, I can scare him off."

The next thing he knew he was hit by a few rocks. Two hit his side and one hit the back of his head.

"Go on, run away stupid animal!"

"Don't do that! Leave him alone!"

A few more rocks hit him and he let out a loud growl as he stood up and turned toward the group of teenagers. All three of the boys were laughing while the girls looked terrified. The boys all picked up rocks and threw them at him.

"Get out of here you stupid animal!"

"Run along with your tail between your legs!"

He snarled and ran toward them. The girls screamed as he jumped at the boy closest to him and sank his teeth into his shoulder. The boy yelped in surprise and he punched Feliciano's nose. He let go breathed out sharply through his nose, the smell of blood flooding his nostrils. The boy kicked him, causing him to yelp in pain as he stumbled backwards.

"Don't kick him! You deserved that for throwing rocks at him!"

"Whose side are you on?" He asked angrily as he grabbed her wrists and pushed her back, causing her to stumble. She let out a sharp cry of pain and Feliciano felt anger well up inside him. How dare he hurt her, the one who tried to save him from being hit with rocks. He snarled and thrust his way between them. He accidentally knocked the girl off balance but the other female caught her before she hit the ground. He let out a loud growl and he bit down on the boys neck. He screamed in pain as Feliciano pushed the boy down. He let go off his throat and shifted into his human form, surprising all five of the teenagers.

"How dare you hurt a lady! How dare you throw rocks at me! I am a guardian of the forest, blessed by a goddess! You should never hurt an animal you piece of trash," he said angrily as he grabbed the boys throat. He began to squeeze his throat and the boy squeaked in surprise. "How about I kill you? The world doesn't need scum like you around. Would you prefer to be choked or would you rather I snap your neck?"

Suddenly a loud gunshot rang out. Feliciano let out a strangled cry as he felt pain in his side. He looked down and saw blood running down his tanned skin. He let out a whimper and moved off the boy as he looked at the boy who held a gun. There was fear in the boy's eyes and the girls screamed.

"Oh my god you shot him!"

"I had no choice, he was going to kill him!"

"You should have knocked him away! He's bleeding so much, what do we do?"

"We get the hell out of here!" The boy screamed as he and the other two fled. Feliciano watched them go as he fell over, clutching his side. His breath was coming out in short puffs, it hurt to breathe.

"Call 9-1-1, quickly!"

The girl, the one he had shoved the boy away from, kneeled down and took her jacket off. She pressed it to his wound and looked at him.

"Stay with me now! Don't close your eyes," she said sternly and he shook his head. He couldn't keep them opened and he let them close. He was tired.

"Sir! Open your eyes! Stay with me!"

The last thing he heard was her voice before he fell unconscious.


	4. Chapter 4

Feliciano opened his eyes to find himself in a white room. He could hear the beeping of something and when he looked to the side he saw it was a machine of some sort. He groaned and looked around the room. He was startled to see a girl was there, staring at him with wide eyes.

"You're finally awake! It's about time, you've been asleep for three days! I was so worried..."

It registered in his mind that this is the girl he protected from that boy. It all came back to him in a rush, rocks being thrown at him and that he had been shot. He slowly sat up. If it really had been three days, then he needed to go. He pulled the needle out of his arm, the one that was connected to a bag of clear liquid. He began to remove other things from his body and his ears flattened when the thing that was monitoring his heart beat let out a loud noise.

"Sir, you shouldn't do that! Hang on, I'll get the nurse," the girl said but Feliciano grabbed her wrist and growled.

"No! I don't need all this stuff connected to me, I will live. I need to get out of here," he said as he stood. His tail lashed to the side and he felt his side for the gunshot wound. Just as he suspected, it was gone. One of the perks of being a forest guardian.

"No, you need to stay here! That was a fatal gunshot wound," the girl said.

"As if. The wound is already healed. I'm a forest guardian you know. A wound like that may have hurt, but it wasn't enough to kill me. Now lead me out of here," he said. The girl sighed and shook her head.

"I can't do that..."

"Then I'll leave by myself."

Before the girl could say anything more, he shifted into a fox and ran out of the room. A passing nurse shrieked in alarm and he barely glanced at her as he took of down the halls. There was more screaming and people jumped out of his way as he ran passed them. It took him a few minutes before he found the exit and he was so glad to be out of there, away from the medicinal smell that seemed to hang in the air. He looked around and took off toward the clump of trees he saw in the distance. He hoped it was a forest, where he could rest and hunt before moving on.

...

He was far away by then. It had been a month now and he continued on, barely resting. For the first few days, he couldn't stop thinking about that girl, but now she was faded from his mind completely. There was no use thinking of her, it wasn't like he'd see her again. She had no affect on his life.

He soon found himself in a wide opened field. Nothing but grassland as far as the eye could see. This was it! This was the way home! His tail wagged as he raced across the field, startling nearby birds. He wasn't worried about them. He just felt like this was the way back to his home, he didn't understand how he knew.

Little did he know just how far his home truly was.


End file.
